Neighbors:

To let all know, the Admiral working committee was invited on 6/1 to meet with Alderman Smith on Monday 6-5 at 6pm.

In attendance were MAS, Marge Britton, Michael Risselada and I. It lasted about 40 minutes. The Alderman wanted to hear verbally where we were since writing the response letter on May 9, 2006.

Michael and I simply reiterated the views expressed in the letter, we were asked if there had been any additional discussion with the Admiral due to the letter; we said that there had not. She did seem concerned about some of the issues, such as the change of building materials, the take away of promised parking spaces, and the displacement of current Admiral residents.

She ended the meeting by saying she would talk to the Admiral Principals and report back to us. I closed the meeting with a question: Can I report to my community that we continue to have the support and backing of the Alderman and the Ward office in our Admiral stance? Michael and I simply reiterated the views expressed in the letter, we were asked if there had been any additional discussion with the Admiral due to the letter; we said that there had not. She did seem concerned about some of the issues, such as the change of building materials, the take away of promised parking spaces, and the displacement of current Admiral residents.

She replied to tell the neighborhood, that she and her office are behind us and supportive of our views.

Today (6-12 at noon) I received a call from her Chief of Staff, Greg Harris. Greg said that he and Ald. Smith contacted the Admiral and explained to them that there must be continued discussion with our community and that there will be no development going forward until the block club is satisfied. He said that there will be no bullying a project through. I was instructed to let him know if we hear and what we are told by the Admiral Principals.

I also rec’d an email this morning form the Admiral’s CEO asking for the addresses of the block club officers and our working committee. They want to issue a response to our May 9th letter.

More as I learn it.

Joseph R. Trendl